


Friends- Sorry, Boyfriends*

by Aristos_Achaion1734



Series: And I Replied [1]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: A little angst, Artist Damian Wayne, Canon-Typical Violence, Cereal Lover Dick Grayson, Child Damian Wayne, Child Death, Couch Cuddles, Damian Wayne Has a Heart, Damian Wayne Needs Love, Dick Grayson Needs a Hug, Dick Grayson is Damian Wayne’s Parent, Dick Grayson is Nightwing, Dick Grayson is a Better Parent Than Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson is a Ray of Sunshine, Drug Dealing, F/M, Father-Son Relationship, Good Grandparent Alfred Pennyworth, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Insecure Damian Wayne, Jason Todd Feels, Jason Todd Loves Classic Literature, Jason Todd is Bad at Feelings, Jason Todd is Not Okay, Jason Todd is Red Hood, M/M, Mentioned only. Not graphic, Oblivious Dick Grayson, Oblivious Jason Todd, POV Dick Grayson, POV Third Person, Pining, Police Officer Dick Grayson, Pseudo-Incest, Slow Burn, Tim Drake & Damian Wayne Get Along, Tired Tim Drake, Workaholic Tim Drake, yes it’s between Dick and Damian
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-17 02:00:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,251
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28841286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aristos_Achaion1734/pseuds/Aristos_Achaion1734
Summary: It has been years since Jason came back from the dead, he got rid of the Pit-madness, he is well rounded, friendly, and he even made amends! With everyone! Well, not Dick. Sure, they're civil, get on, banter, tease, all that, but its so Awkward™️. Dick realised it, and he's had enough. He and Jason will become the best of friends, become the brothers they never got to be. They will.Or will they become something more? Can they? Especially with the threat looming in the background endangering their lives and their love.
Relationships: Amy Rohrbach/Jim Rohrbach, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Past Tim Drake/Stephanie Brown, past Dick Grayson/Barbara Gordon
Series: And I Replied [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2181117
Comments: 39
Kudos: 116





	1. A Start to a Beautiful Friendship

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone, welcome to my debut to fanfiction, if you want to know more about me look in my bio.
> 
> Firstly a disclaimer, for legal purposes: all publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author of this story. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any previously copyrighted material. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> This is a teaser chapter to 1. Get people excited. 2. Show me what people think about my writing style. 3. To motivate myself. I can be like "no, you have to update, you already posted one chapter!"
> 
> I am tagging and adding characters and relationships (apart from Jaydick because that's the endgame) as I post chapters, so they don't spoil future events.
> 
> So far I have only written this one single chapter, but I do have a rough story plan, which I will perfect within the week. So far I have a plan for up to 10 chapters but the narrative is no where near finished at that point so the story might easily be 20 chapers, we'll see. 
> 
> After posting this chapter I will start working on the other chapters, and will work out an update schedule which I'll let you know about. I plan on having at least 3 chapters done in advance each time I post so it may be anywhere between a week and a month before I post again.
> 
> This work is not Beta'd, if anyone is up for that, let me know x

Kick.

Punch. 

Roundhouse kick.

Uppercut.

 _And round and round we go_ , thought Nightwing as he knocked out another lackey. He just wants to go to bed early for once in his goddamn life but no. Drug dealers and mob bosses _have_ to make his life extra difficult my having shipments at 4 Am in the fucking morning. At this rate he will only have 2 hours of beauty sleep. _Thank god for concealer_ , he thinks as he backhanded an asshole with his escrima.

Thing is, he barely got 4 hours last night. Usually he’s able to fit in a nap between work and patrol but hey ho, today he was busy. This fact is exactly what allowed one of the lackeys to sneak up on him. Only reason. Yep. Dick will not lose his dignity.

But before the guy can land a critical hit, he falls to the ground unconscious. Confused, Dick does a quick scan of the area. And lo and behold he finds his saviour. Red Hood.

“Really should learn how to watch your back ‘Wing, thought your contortionist ways allowed you to bend far enough to see everything,” banters Hood as he focuses on knocking out three more men.

“That all you got? He just got a lucky drop, not going to happen again. Plus I’m an acrobat not a contortionist, you know that,” corrects Dick, as he knocks out the last guy with a non-lethal pulse from his escrima stick. He pulls out his grapple and Jason follows his lead. They grapple to a nearby rooftop.

“Yep, still gonna annoy ya,” smirks Jason, and when did he take his helmet off? His tone turned serious when he continued, “That was the new gang which has been giving me grief for the past 4 months back in Gotham I told you about last time, caught wind they wanted to expand territory into Blud, thought I would scare them off. They shouldn’t return. I’ll give you a heads up if I hear they want to try again,” explained Jason before Dick even had the chance to question him.

Dick remembers Jason telling him about the gang. The Eternals, they call themselves. Only got big and popular because they manufactured their own drug, _Paradise,_ or ‘ice’ for short, easier on the street, he supposes. Dick hums in understanding.

See, under any other circumstances, Dick would stay and chat, would gladly banter with Jason, he does miss him. But as it is he feels he’s going to pass out, he quickly explains the issue and bids Jason goodbye, truthfully he isn’t even sure he was coherent because he doesn’t even remember his journey home. He’s _that_ tired, yes.

\-----

 _Oh god, why did I choose_ this _sound again?_ Dick thinks to himself as he hears his _truly awful_ alarm blaring. Reluctantly, he wakes up enough to turn it off and check the time. 6:30 Am. God fucking damn it. He’s going to be late. Again.

He blinks the sleep from his eyes as he looks around. His room is not the _best_ but he likes it. Three white walls, with the wall opposite the door a rich Nightwing blue; no one ever called him the king of subtlety. His bed is adjacent to two walls, the headboard being against the blue wall. He has a wardrobe on the other side of the room, and a bookshelf adjacent to the door. He isn’t a _massive_ book fan but he does keep enough to make it function, he filled up extra spaces with trinkets and boxes for other shit though so… hey, if it works, it works.

Groaning, he rolls out of bed. Truly it’s quite pathetic, especially with the way he whimpers at the loss of heat but, _eh, we’ve all been there before, no one can blame me,_ he thinks as he puts on his shirt _._ With one last longing glance at his sanctuary he leaves the room, heading to the kitchen to get his, you guessed it, cereal. Magnificent creation. Truly.

Dick likes to think he’s not a high maintenance man, sure he takes care of his appearance, as all vigilantes do. He takes care of his fashion choices, even dots on a bit of makeup if he has time. But he will never complain about cereal. You could place down any cereal of your choice and he would worship you where you stand.

6:40 Am. Damn, he’s got 20 minutes to get to the station _. Amy will kill me; she will murder me, quarter me, and then hang me as an exemplar for all those who choose to be late._ He realises that. He does. But he also understands that you cannot rush the art of cereal. So he takes his time.

As he’s eating he can’t help but think back to his conversation with Jason the previous night, the two have been getting along lately! Dick and Jason. They never got along. Okay that’s a lie, just before… well, just before Jason’s _accident_ , they started to get closer, becoming _real_ brothers. Aaaaaand then the Joker came by and bam. No more brotherhood between the two birds.

It’s been a few years since Jason came back riddled with Pit-madness, and he’s on the mend now, made amends with Tim after trying to kill him, and babysat Dami once or twice. Though, admittedly, Dick _was_ called in for damage control. Jason and Bruce are on a ‘case-only’ speaking basis, but they are talking at least, not yelling.

Somehow Jason had avoided making proper amends with Dick, he realises, as he almost dropped his cereal bowl prematurely into the sink out of shock, almost resulting in a break. Like, Dick knows their relationship is a little awkward but he completely neglected to realise that they haven’t actually _talked_. Not really. Dick doesn’t know the man Jason is today. Sure they can banter, talk missions, help each other, but god forbid they talk for more than 10 minutes about non-case related reasons.

“Holy shit,” he breathes. He needs to fix this.

\----- 

Dick, impeccable as always, thanks to some amazing concealer, _truly a godsend_ , as his nightlife does not let him be blemish and dark under-eye free, and his uniform which fits him amazingly (and shows off his beloved assets), walks into the station.

He makes a beeline for the coffee machine because regrettably, he did not have time to get coffee on the way. Sad. His pondering about his and Jason’s relationship spaced him out so he is currently 10 minutes late. He hasn’t clocked in yet, instead prioritising his caffeine fix. Should he care? Yes. Does he care? No. Coffee is love, coffee is life.

As he’s basically inhaling the caffeine into his system, Amy, who he really hates sometimes, _loves like a sister_ , but goddamn if she sneaks up on him one more time he will deck her, by accident, maybe. How does she even manage it with his vigilante reflexes? Hell if he knows. Luckily, said reflexes and training in him make sure that he thankfully does not jump as she clamps her hand down on his shoulder, _hard,_ and he does not spill the heavenly mixture down his uniform. Thank god.

“Rookie!” false-cheers Amy. Venom dripping from her voice as Dick gets more scared by the second. “What did I tell you about setting your alarm for earlier? Late. Again Grayson, you need to stop playing games at night and get to bed on time. So you can get. To work. On time,” she stresses each small sentence with putting more force into her hold on his shoulder.

“What games?” asks Dick flippantly, though inside he is a little on edge, he’s sure he’s given nothing away about Nightwing, though you can't blame him for being paranoid. 1. He was raised by the goddamn _Batman._ 2\. He knows Amy enough to not underestimate her.

He and Amy hit it off straight from square one, they became fast friends and climbed the ranks to detectives together side by side. Dick goes over her house every Friday for dinner with her and her family, after she found out he would live off cereal if he could, and does actively live off of take-out, lets just say she insisted. He’s become like an uncle to her kids, Emma and James. He’s buddies with her husband Jim. Hell, they have _sleepovers._

Unfortunately the life of a vigilante is a lonely one, Amy doesn’t know about Nightwing, or him being the ward of Bruce-Fucking-Wayne. Though he doesn’t actually have an excuse for that one, just never came up. He’s just letting that one play out at this point. It’s bound to be funny when it comes out.

“Video games of course,” she rolled her eyes. “Just kidding around, I have no idea what you are doing but you can’t possibly be sleeping if you’ve got circles bad enough to warrant concealer,” she stated as Dick self-consciously reached to his face. “No, they aren’t visible but I have a daughter who just started experimenting with makeup, and I’m a woman myself, I can tell,” she explains, and Dick exhales a sigh of relief.

\-----

“Oh for fuck’s sake! I’m so _bored_. This is torture. My _eyes_ are sliding _shut_ ,” whines Dick, king of melodrama, emphasising individual words as if that would make him more relatable. It was only around an hour until lunch but he desperately needed a break from this paperwork. Doesn’t help that he only slept 2 hours last night. Stupid drug dealers. Pick a better time to do shipments.

On the other side of him, Gannon, a fellow detective, snorts from his own pile of paperwork, bringing Dicks focus back to the present, getting him out of his fantasies about cursing out criminals. Oh how much he loves cursing out criminals. Right, he’s off track again. Focus

“Stop Whining, Grayson. Or I'll break up with you!” states Gannon with even more drama than even Dick could muster, even if he wasn’t as riddled with fatigue as he is. Of course, he and Gannon are not actually together, though since they are the only openly LGBT members in the precinct, him being Bi, and Gannon being Gay, it’s a running joke of theirs.

Dick clasps a hand around his heart and gapes openly, gasps out of shock, bringing crocodile tears to his eyes. He’s bringing every trick in the book he knows. The acting lessons from Bruce payed off, Gannon doesn’t have a clue who he’s up against.

“You- you can’t! Gan, baby, I _love_ you. How could you just-,” he breaks off to force out a few more fake sobs. “No, no please dont leave me!” he begs and falls limp in his chair, hand slowly falling from his heart. 

The sound of clapping brings him out of his performance, Gannon is grinning at him, while Amy is slow clapping, mouthing ‘well done’ sarcastically. Dick can’t help to show off a little more, so with a grin he stands up and bows.

“Now that you two are done with your shenanigans, I’m sending you on a coffee run, we all need it. Go,” Amy ordered, and as the loyal subjects that they are, they obeyed. Not that it was reluctant, in fact they actually scrambled out of the precinct, coffee is love, and coffee is life. That is Dick’s mantra.

Half an hour later they’re standing in line waiting for their order to be made, bickering lightly.

“All I’m saying is that Nightwing _could_ beat Superman. Batman beat him! And Nightwing has been shown to work with Batman, so they must have a similar skillset. Bam! good reasoning,” states Dick. They’ve been going back and forth on this since they arrived at the local coffee shop. It's a cozy place, warm colour scheme with round tables and soft creme couches. 

“Yeah, but he’s _Superman_ , dude,” states Gannon, almost in an astonished whine, however Dick can’t be sure exactly, as is no longer paying attention to this petty squabble. No. Dick spotted Jason, in a Bludhaven coffee shop? Okay that’s number 1 on the list of things he didn’t think was going to happen anytime soon. Jason has a tendency to skip town the second he finished a job. So what in the ever living fuck was he still doing here? Not that Dick isn't happy to see him; quite the opposite.

“One sec,” he told Malloy as he headed in Jason’s direction, ignoring his friends questions, and then the indignant squawks that followed after said friend reaised he was ignored. Jason was here. Available for a chat. And that was never a thing to miss out on

Dick would be lying if he said that he didn’t want to sneak up on Jason, but past experience told him that is a terribly horrendous idea. So he settled on casually strolling up to him, making his footsteps known, and suddenly exclaiming, 

“Little Wing!”

Fine so he may have startled him a little bit, sue him. He wanted some fun at least. Jason turns around suddenly, eyes narrowed in confusion, before he spots the trademark Dick Grayson cheery grin, and settles on an unimpressed stare.

“Great. Just what I needed. Cheery-ness,” deadpans Jason, clearly exhausted, probably on his 3rd cup of coffee to be fair. Dick can sympathise. So he’s not going to make it difficult on him. Just some quick bat-like interrogation and then he’ll be on his way.

“Usually you dip straight after a job, what gives?” he asks, bluntly, low so he isn’t overhead, ignoring Jason’s less than stellar greeting.

“Not really any of your business Goldie” says Jason, levelling him a look as he sips from his take-away cup. Though he certainly seems tired, he doesn’t _look_ it. Jason looks _good._ Dressed down in a way which gives him a ‘don’t-fuck-with-me-cause-I-can-fuck-you-up’ vibe in his tan leather jacket, ripped black jeans and a black muscle shirt. Sunglasses tucked in his shirt exposing his collarbone, he looks great. Drool-worthy.

 _Wait, bad Dick. Brother. Jason's not drool-worthy, he's_ attractive.

Breaking out of those thoughts, Dick is persistent, “Come on Jase, just out with it. It’ll save me an investigation, save you time by evading, and it's my city; ergo, I think it _just might_ be my business.”

“Ugh, you’re relentless Dickface. Fine, I’m moving. Happy? Bludhaven dropped house costs, and I found a place at the edge of town bordering Gotham, so I'm still _working_ from Gotham. So you don’t have to worry about me taking over your city,” Jason explains. He never really accepted financial help from Bruce, and since the new gang came on the scene, sometimes the money doesn’t show. Mob bossing isn’t really a stable source of income.

An idea strikes Dick, completely at random, typical. Though it is helpful, he has to admit. He was thinking of ways to fix his relationship with Jason. Well here’s a way. He asks a question, the randomness of which, especially considering the previous subject matter, has Jason’s eyebrows rising, but fuck it, he’s shooting his shot.

“Hey, Jaybird, you want to get lunch?”

\-----

“So, how’ve you been, Little Wing?” asks Dick with his trademark upbeat tilt to his voice, hoping to diffuse the tension which built itself the second they sat down. Their walk was filled with small-talk, ‘ _yeah just a coffee run, you know how it is heh’ ‘yeah I do, Dick, did I ever tell you how much of an amazing brother you are and how much I admire you and-‘_ OKAY, maybe it didn’t happen exactly like that but one can hope. God.

After his random question Jason must have been so intrigued at where his mind must have come from that he accepted without issue, which was his pessimistic side talking. His optimistic side says that Jason can’t get enough of Dick’s company, which he would love to believe, but alas, he’s a realist so he's going with the former.

After said acceptance of said offer Dick skipped, yes, physically skipped, earned him quite a few looks, over to Gannon to get him to play messenger and tell Amy he’s getting an early lunch. And here they are.

“Okay, cut the crap,” says Jason, breaking Dick out of his revere. “We don’t _do_ this kind of thing, dickhead. We don’t chit-chat over bagels and coffee. What’s your angle?”

“I don’t _have_ an ‘angle’ Jay. Just want to get some ‘bagels and coffee’ with my bro, what’s the problem?” placated Dick. Doing physical air quotations with his hands to emphasise his point. Wow, trust Jason to bring the paranoia, of course. How could he have possibly forgotten? Not that he’s completely off the mark but, well, _it's still annoying._

“And I’m Mariah Carey. Try again.” Deadpanned Jason. Sometimes Dick forgets that though he was trained to be a master liar, and excels at it if he does say so himself, Jason has been taught similar techniques. Though Dick isn't really putting much effort into it. Kind of wanted to bring out the honesty hour, it lets him speak his mushy mind while seemingly trying to avoid it. Makes him look less clingy, which is the best bet when it comes to Jason. Less clingy the better.

“Fine, I realised that though you made up with the family, we didn’t really, well, _talk_.” At this Jason makes a confused face, already opening his mouth to no doubt contradict Dick. “I mean, we talk, but when was the last time we talked for more than 10 minutes about something that wasn’t case related?” explains Dick, echoing his earlier thoughts before Jason has the chance to jump in.

“Right. I guess I do see your point,” Jason reluctantly admitted. “So is this supposed to be a vent space? Us setting up new rules? Airing out the dirty laundry?”

“I was hoping to just, run with this. Go for lunch. Talk about our day. Admit to our deep dark secrets of hoping to one day own an octopus. I don’t know Jason. Just, start fresh. We never got to become brothers, so how about we work up to it from scratch?” proposed Dick, hoping against hope he didn’t scare Jason off with his pathetic joke about the octopus. Sue him, his mouth opened before he thought, you just have to run with it at that point.

“Octopus? And here I thought it would be an elephant,” joked back Jason, catching Dick off guard, especially with the reference to his childhood. Okay, _I can definitely work with this._ Dick held out his hand.

“I am Richard John Grayson, I go by Dick. I am very pleased to make your acquaintance,” Dick exaggerated with an _obviously_ fake British accent, which is pitiful as he lived with Alfred for years, and confusing as there was honestly no need. _Damn you, brain-mouth filter. Roll with it, Grayson._ Jason once again adopted a confused, but this time also amused look on his face. _Probably noting how much of a chaotic dumbass you’ve become._ But reciprocated nonetheless,

“As am I, good sir. Jason peter Todd, I do not go by any foolish nicknames such as yourself, for which I pride myself. However I feel this is a start to a beautiful friendship.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow so this took me 4 hours and 30 minutes to write. I’m falling asleep as I wrote this. I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I’m about to enjoy my nap :) xx


	2. A Week Later.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay! My computer crashed with all of my notes on each chapter stored on there. I lost everything :(
> 
> Luckily I had certain quotes I wanted to include in this chapter saved on my phone, and I remembered the general plot direction I was going to move this chapter in so I went by that. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy!

It’s been a week, and Dick can honestly say he does not regret his decision. Seems like an awfully short time for two people to gain an understanding like they did but, when they said to start from scratch, they truly meant it.

After their hilariously stupid re-introductions to each other, they decide to act on it. They don’t hold any lingering resentment, Dick sure doesn’t and he doubts Jason does, with him being mostly recovered from his random bouts of pit-madness, or at least managing it amazingly.

Dick can’t tell.

They talked about anything and everything. At first, it was a bit tense, neither knowing _what_ to say. But they managed in the end.

(“So-“ they both started, “you go fir-“ and then smiled sheepishly at each other. Jason cleared his throat and let him lead.

“You said you’re moving? Here? Thought you saw Bludhaven as a shit-hole,” prods Dick, they were in public, so they couldn’t talk about vigilante stuff blatantly, this way they’re mostly avoiding the topic and if they toe it then it’s subtle.

“More than a few factors, the _competitive company_ I mentioned a few times is expanding, I thought I’d expand with it,” claims Jason, putting a strain on the words ‘competitive company’ so Dick knows exactly who he’s talking about. “The house costs are lower now, I wasn’t kidding about that. Thought I’d take advantage. And I guess since I’ll still work in Gotham it won’t be a suspicious place for me to live in. Why would I commute? People in our profession take care of the cities we live in usually, we don’t move around.”

Jason surprised Dick with his answer. It was kind and honest. It was not snappy, not a ‘none of your business.’ Not a fake answer to get him off his back. It was such a small and simple thing but he was trying. Dick relaxed.)

It went smooth from there. They exchanged phone numbers and set up another meet-up, which went just as well, brunch before Dick’s afternoon shift.

During the week they would text sometimes, mostly with Jason initiating, surprisingly.

Snap selfie of two cereal boxes, asking which was better before promptly scowling and telling him it’s a trick question because Dick is “an idiot who needs to start eating healthy”

Would you rather questions, an amazing tool. Tells you a lot about a person while also being a good ice breaker. Texting about anything.

Dick’s all glad for it. It’s exactly what he wanted.

It is.

So why does it feel like it’s missing something?

———

Damian’s been staying with him for the past few days, three to be exact. He hasn’t told him of his truce ( _should I call it that?_ ) with Jason. Call him sentimental, he likes the fact that their friendship is on the down-low. They can cherish it all to themselves for a while.

Damian’s lounging on his couch, drawing, as Dick walks across the room in a handstand position. He wants to text Jason, ask him how he is. Make it known that he cares so Jason sees that he’s serious, that he wants to have a good relationship with him. But they’ve texted only a few hours ago and he doesn’t want to come off as too clingy and drive Jason away

_Less clingy the better, he thinks_ , as he sighs wistfully.

Unfortunately for him, Damian takes notice. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He inquired, eyebrows scrunched adorably. His demeanour screams _worried!_ It’s cute.

Let’s be honest, Dick is more of a father to Damian than Bruce is. He will never admit it out loud but in the confines of his own mind, he can reminisce of the good old days where he was the one who took care of him. He was the one who taught him how to not only be a good Robin but how to love. How to open up. How to be vulnerable. How to be his son in everything but name, blood, and words.

Bruce and Talia taught him how to be a soldier. A weapon. Dick can sympathise. That’s all he ever was for Bruce after he left Robin, or rather, was _forcefully extracted_ from Robin.

Leaving those thoughts, they never bring anything good. He can’t help but feel proud of his little Robin. Before, he was simply a personification of rage and fury. Dick understood. He did. Which is why he didn’t want him to corrupt himself like that.

Slowly he introduced him to the more pleasant emotions, the aforementioned love, and compassion. Over time, Damian allowed himself to be vulnerable around Dick. Seek out hugs, initiate them, _be the cuddly, clingy child he had every right to be_ , Dick thinks bitterly.

“Me? Oh yeah, I’m doing well, just a bit tired from work, you know how it is,” he answers confidently. “Hey, what are you drawing by the way? Let me see.”

Damian turns the drawing towards him, a little blush colouring his cheeks. It’s them, Damian, Dick, and Titus. Damian is lounging on the couch scratching behind Titus’s ears, clearly holding back a smile. Dick on the other hand had his head thrown back in a bright laugh. It’s at Wayne manor, he used a photo as a reference, he knows because he has the very same photo framed on his nightstand.

“Oh Jesus Little D, that is honestly something to go into a gallery, I swear. Well done, Dames. I love it,” Dick says earnestly. It’s just a rough sketch, light pencil lines barely there but already so much emotion pours from the image.

“Tt, I am _aware_ of that Richard, it is rather unfortunate that its beauty is being wasted to your eyes,” Damian says teasingly, clear mischief in his eyes even as he holds a serious scowl.

Dick will have none of that and tackles him to the couch. The tickle war has begun. He will win of course. He always does.

———

He did. And he then reaped his win of a cuddle session.

They were just lounging on the couch finishing up a Harry Potter movie marathon which lasted them two days _. Worth it_.

He presses a kiss to the top of Damian’s head, randomly. Because Bruce would rather kill the Joker than show affection and there’s evidence to prove he’s violently against that. (Yes he’s talking about the time Bruce revived him, damn it.)

Dick will be damned if he lets Damian grow up in an environment where the only affection he receives is shoulder pats for a successful mission.

Just as he’s settling his head back on the pillow there is a sound of the door lock opening.

_Damn it_ , Damian shoots up like a deer caught in headlights, not wishing to be seen in such a vulnerable state. Dick may have taught him that being vulnerable is okay. But the assassin training in him will not let him show such weakness _, his words not mine_ , to someone he doesn’t trust unequivocally, trust that they won’t betray his emotions, his vulnerability. The fact that Dick is the only one on that list warms his heart, but it also breaks a little when Bruce doesn’t make the cut.

Jon is working his way up. Damian lets him have 10 second long hugs. _Progress._

The door opens to reveal Tim. _Oh fuck, I forgot he was coming over_. And based on the way Damian’s eyes widened briefly before he pursued his lips, _he did too_.

They arranged a boys' night a while ago. Damian and Tim have stopped being so scathing to each other and in the process realised that they make a really good team out there on the field.

Batman noticed too, of course, and utilised it. This had a good effect as they only served to get closer. You can’t work with someone for pretty much 10 hours per day and live at the same house the rest of the time and not develop some sort of a truce, or even respect.

“Dick, Dames, sup?” Tim greeted as he entered, chucking off his shoes and immediately face planting the couch next to Dick, who just patted him on the back of the head in sympathy. Tim was working on a case these past few months, putting all of his available time into it, of course, he’d be tired.

“Are you sure that you wish to participate in the ‘boys night’ as Richard called it with how tired you obviously are, Timothy?” Asked Damian, seemingly offhandedly but Dick has been around him enough to know that he’s concerned.

_Still doesn’t want to show it though_ , Dick muses. A few weeks back that would have been a scathing remark about how ‘Drake’ is too incompetent to navigate a sleep schedule. _Progress,_ Dick repeats.

“Dames has got a point, you do seem tired,” he offers, if only to clear the air in case there was a misunderstanding. Just because he has a deep understanding of Damian’s character doesn’t mean Tim has. He could have easily perceived his words as a jab.

“No no it’s fine, I’ve been looking forward to this and I’ve got enough juice in me to let you paint my nails and watch enough cringy movies that I want to yeet myself off the clock tower,” speaks Tim in a no-nonsense tone. “Let’s go bitches.” He deadpans.

_Non-negotiable,_ Dick thinks _. Got it_. “Alright, but if you pass out I’m drawing on you with a sharpie!” Sing songs Dick as he walks off to the kitchen to make hot chocolate for them. Damian’s scoff can be heard clearly.

“Wha- no you can’t do that!” As can Tim’s indignant squawk.

It’s 11 pm now, they took the day off for patrol just for this bonding sesh. Jason is probably going off to patrol, he said he is. Especially once he found out about Dick’s plans. Said he’ll “cover the territory for the irresponsible birds” and that he “expects them to owe” him. Sure.

He’s going to bed soon, finally early for once. So before thinks twice he clicks send on his composed message and takes the hot chocolates in hand.

The message was totally brotherly. Jason wouldn’t see it as too clingy or anything, right? God, he hopes he doesn’t push him away.

He fixes a smile on his face as he brings out the hot chocolate. “Guys! Look what I’ve got!” he announces.

———

Jason’s been running himself ragged. First, the Eternals, such a haughty name, infringe in his city, then not only that but they purposefully go into his territory, only to start taking out his men, and God if he could _only get 5 minutes of peace, that would be fucking swell!_

Unfortunately. He’s Jason Todd. And luck doesn’t like one Jason Todd. Nor does peace. So he’s going to have to make due.

He’s currently in his new apartment at the edge of Bludhaven. It has a nice view, if a river undoubtedly clogged full of bodies is your cup of tea.

He sighs as he rubs a hand down his face, this case has been bothering him for the past month and a half only for them to get worse and worse the longer he can’t get them dead. He needs the source, not the head of the hydra. Which is unfortunately way more time-consuming than it seems.

All he knows is that the leader, whoever he is, is incredibly sadistic. Purposely making a formula of drug which works best on kids, making them the primary demographic. The worst thing, it has an almost guaranteed lethality. It’s so addictive, the kids can’t help but OD, craving more while still under the influence of the previous batch.

Jason knows it’s supposed to be a call for him. A red flag waved at a bull. What they don’t know is that this bull won’t miss when he charges.

He doesn’t know what they have against him. Or why they targeted him. Or anything! _And it’s starting to piss me the hell off!_

He takes a few breaths to calm the put rage. He may have learnt to curb it, and manage it and manoeuvre around it, but it’s still there.

_I’m not getting anywhere_ , he admits _, might as well start an early patrol_. After all, he’s covering for the two little birds tonight. Dick decided to pamper them in ‘big brother hugs.’ _“They’re amazing and you know it, Jace,”_ he had said, bopping him on the nose at the word “you.” Idiot. He has no sense of self preservation.

Not that Jason would actually hurt him. The Golden Boy had grown on him. A bit. Like fungus.

He’s not willing to admit that he enjoys spending time with him. Because he doesn’t. That would be ridiculous. He’s willing to give him a chance. Which he did. But to get attached so early? For Jason? _Please._

His phone pings, breaking his chain of thought. Only for it to start back up again as he sees the contact name.

**Dickface** 👃

_Goodnight, Little Wing. Ly, get a good amount of hours in after patrol x_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I planned on adding more on to the ending, but I thought it was a cute way to end it with the text. 
> 
> Let me know what you guys think, I don’t have a beta or any spell checking app, I wrote this all in my phone notes so if you see any mistakes do let me know please, I don’t mind. Comment if you think it’s too rushed, or the characters are not to your liking, or if you loved it and want to express that. I welcome any and all comments <3 
> 
> Except hate but I think that goes without saying lmao x


	3. Batboys -1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> *!!IMPORTANT!!* - Read over the 2nd Chapter again, I made changes, added in small details, fixed up how it looks and ran it through Grammarly. It isn't vital but I would recommend it :)
> 
> Dick, Tim, and Damian Fluff. Just that. It's a filler, yes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hii, the response to me taking a break was overwhelming. You were all so nice and so kind. I mentioned that I did have some stuff written ahead, which was this chapter. I edited it up, ran it through Grammarly, (which, let me just say, is great, but if it doesn't get over it's hatred of british words I will be throwing hands lmao) and felt that I should post it, it's very short but you guys were all so nice, like I said, and that just made me motivated to get back into the swing of things, so as little as this chhapter is, I still wanted to give. 
> 
> There has been a tragedy at my school, unfortunate suicide. As a result, my teachers are spending more time on mental health, self care, etc, rather than on school work, so I had less work and more free time to write this chapter. If you you ever feel down or get into that dark space don't hesitate to reach out to people. Many want to help. Look up the hotlines for your individual country and utilise them if you need to x
> 
> For those who are just showing up now and didn't see the authors note, which I now deleted, just skip to the story. This won't make much sense. But those who read it and want an update on my life, read on.
> 
> I am steadily getting through the media, ayy guys at this rate I'll be done before Christmas!!
> 
> Medically, the pains I have mentioned got worse so I decided to call up a doctor, and they gave me a call-back appointment. Don't do the same mistake as I did, call them up, they can accomodate you around COVID if you don't want to physically attend. 
> 
> Turns out I have anxiety, which I have to work through on my own. Nothing medically too serious, which I am happy about. I am not taking it lightly but am relieved it isn't something so much worse.
> 
> My love life is still complicated!!! nothing changed there lmao. *cries*
> 
> Anywho, I hope you enjoy the chapter!!!

When Dick woke up he did not expect to be in the middle of a cuddle sandwich. Seriously. He was laying on his back with Damian plastered against his left side, little-spoon style, Tim resting his head on his right shoulder, arm draped over his chest. It warmed him. Of course, he is not a monster; so he doesn’t move and lets them sleep.

God knows Tim could definitely use it. He’s been working on a human trafficking case for the past 3 months. After the first month filled up with investigation after investigation of the victims, interviewing suspects, tracing steps, backtracking over and over again, and yielding next to no results he finally caught a break.

A location.

He spent two weeks staking it out but soon realised he needed an inside source. Another week of prep and suddenly he’s undercover at one of the dingiest bars Gotham has to offer, which says something, for the past 6 weeks.

Damian has been doing his usual stuff. Patrol with Bruce. As Robin, no one gets their own cases. You can help, sure. But every case you take is either a Watson to Bruce’s Sherlock or the smallest investigation that lasts 1-2 days tops. Not enough to even be called a case.

Stirring on his left breaks his musings, he looks over to see Damian twisting around to hug him. _Adorable_ , Dick thinks as Damian places his head on his upper left chest and sighs softly as if content.

“Mornin’ Little Prince,” states Dick, voice heavy with sleep. He knows Damian was awake, he never moves while unconscious. “How’d you sleep?”

Damian shifts to look at him with childlike eyes, “Acceptable. You require a superior mattress, though you yourself make for a worthy substitute, Richard,” states Damian. _Translation: I slept amazing, Dick. You’re comfy._

Beaming, Dick kisses the top of Damian’s forehead. The movement stirs Tim on his other side and with a groan, he brings his hand up to rub the sleep out of his eyes. Like a chain reaction, the sound makes Damian stealthily retreat away from Dick to there are a few inches between them.

“Wait, why am I in your bed?” inquires Tim at Dick, “last I remember We were finishing up _Avatar_ and now I’m here?” Tim is referring to the film, which is underrated in Dick’s opinion

Dick laughs, “well lucky you, I didn’t go through with my promise about writing on you in sharpie,” at this Tim looks relieved. “I did however scoop you up like a princess and placed you into an actual bed to sleep. You dozed off as they were fusing Jake with the Tree of Souls,” informs Dick as he’s making to get up.

Tim makes an ‘ah’ sound, deciding to lounge in his bed for a little while longer.

Dick moves to put a shirt on, she sleeps shirtless and he will not change that no matter who is present. “What do you guys want for breakfast?” He asks. He can’t help but feel offended at the looks of alarm they both send him, “Oh for the love of- I can cook basic breakfast I’m not that bad. My French toast is delicious thank you very much,” he huffs, indignant.

“Don’t blame us! We get told ‘Dick’s and Bruce’s Kitchen Mishaps’ as practically bedtime stories or Wayne mansion proverbs by Alfred!” Declares Tim a little Sheepishly, _Rightfully so_ , thinks Dick. He is not as bad as they make him out to be. Sure, he isn’t _good_ but he isn’t _catastrophic_.

Rolling his eyes, not even replying, he leaves the room to get a start on the breakfast; he’s too tired to argue his point.

\----

“I sincerely apologise,” states Tim, face the picture of seriousness. Like he’s about to propose a new deal for WayneTech. “I was so wrong. This is actually some really delicious French toast and your kitchen is still intact. I love you and please forgive me.”

Dick laughs, a little smug. “Told ya, Timmers,” he states with a smirk. “I may not be Alfred but, some stuff has rubbed off,” he shrugs. Alfred tried his best to teach them all but none of them will be able to replicate his culinary genius.

“Pennyworth is an impossible standard to measure yourself towards, Richard, if you were to go against the man he would have you down within a nanosecond,” spoke Damian confidently. Fair point, Dick can’t argue with that. “Though, in your defence this _is_ edible and, to quote Timothy, ‘your kitchen is still intact’ so I would deem this a success.”

“Awe guys you melt my heart!” dramatizes Dick, placing a hand on his chest. “Right, I have an afternoon shift today, I start at 2. It is now-” he checks his watch, “8:56. The latest we can leave for Gotham is 12:30 so I can get a round trip in before I have to get ready. When do you want to leave? We can still fit things in today if you want?” 

Dick runs that through his head again. Sounds like a good plan. If he left at 12:30, a trip there is 30 minutes if you count lunchtime traffic, he will hang around maybe 10 minutes that’s 13:10. 20-25 minutes to get back because traffic is over at that point brings him to 13:35. And 10 minutes to get to the station gives him 15 minutes to spare.

Now that he thinks about it. Not ideal. 15 minutes isn’t enough to get ready. He has to get his hair to look the same way it usually does. Fuck secret identities. They’re a pain. Why hadn’t he just chosen a cowl? He won’t say anything now, he’s already given the time and stuff _. Oh well, will get ready before we go._

“We could start a _Twilight_ movie marathon, they’re so cringe. Get in a few movies and then go?” Asks Tim, Damian nodding along, breaking him out of his musings.

“Sounds like a plan,” Dick smiled.

\----

A few movies brought them exactly to 12:20. They sped through the _really_ cringy bits they couldn’t stomach. Like for example, the time-lapse of Bella moping, _ugh_.

It is currently 12:25 Dick started to get ready around 12 and is getting ready to head out in a few. The other boys are bickering on who is better for Bella. Dick smiles, he loves them. His family is everything to him, and moments like these strengthen that.

Before the debate could become an argument, then a fight, then physical, he intervenes, “Come on let’s go!”

They’ve been getting along better but they still aren’t the best with civilian discussions. Casework? Hell year, talk for hours on end. Civilian discussions? Can’t talk about cheesecake flavours without a minor argument arising.

_Progress, Grayson. Remember that._

They pile into the car, Damian calling shotgun, but Tim just barging in even so. Muttering something about _pipsqueaks_ and _minimal height limit_. Dick snorts.

The ride to the manor is quiet but comfortable. They’re enjoying each other’s presence and existing in each other’s space. Dick muses if he and Jason would have this kind of comfortable atmosphere between them, and if they don’t, what is it going to take?

Thinking of Jason is like scratching an itch that doesn’t want to go away. He thinks it’s because they’re not as close yet, and it bugging him. But then he thinks of them together like him and Tim, or him and Damian. And it’s still not enough to scratch that itch. Maybe it’s because they’ve been estranged for a long time, and he just wants to get back on track much more urgently than with Damian or Tim? He doesn’t know but he wants to figure it out before this metaphorical itch starts bleeding from irritation.

He pulls up at the manor’s front driveway behind the fountain and gets out along with his brothers to bid them goodbye. They need to do this more often, Damian may have stayed for a week, but he hasn’t seen Tim properly in a while. This should be a fortnightly, if not a weekly, thing. He voices this.

“Definitely,” says Tim, shouldering his backpack with a smile. “I enjoyed myself, and I think I speak for the brat too when I say that we’d love to spend more time with you.”

“What Drake says is correct, your presence is welcome. To have it in my life for longer periods of time would pleasant,” says Damian. He reverted back to ‘Drake’ for the ‘brat’ comment, no doubt. From Tim’s smirk, he realises it too.

Dick ruffles Damian’s hair, he would hug him but Damian expressed that ‘ _such vulnerability is not to be shown outside of your abode Richard._ ’ Sad, but still progress. He gave him a space to express himself and an outlet, now it’s up to Damian to open himself up to others. _Let’s just hope and do everything to prevent others from failing him._

“Young Masters! How lovely to see you all. Master Dick, I haven’t seen you in person in quite some time,” declares Alfred. To others, he looks stoic as always, the picture of the perfect butler. But to those who know him, he is visibly excited.

Sheepishly rubbing his neck, Dick answers, “Yeah, I was kinda busy Alfie, sorry.” He hugs his grandfather figure.

“That is quite alright, Master Dick. Could I interest you in a cup of tea? Just how you like it,” the butler offered. Dick is about to politely decline, he does have work, but before he can, Alfred cuts in with “if you deem an old man such as myself as worthy of your company.” When he says it like that, Dick feels a little guilty. And Dick did get ready, and he did have 15 minutes to spare. Why should he deny Alfred?

“Sure,” he concedes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like that Alfred cameo? Truth be told I wanted to include the actual tea session in the chapter, but I have decided not to. I am debating whether to include it into the 4th chapter or make a separate oneshot. 
> 
> There is a chance I will go back on this chapter and edit it and add bits, I'll let you know in the chapter summary :)
> 
> I'm also about to make a series to put this AU in. So look out for that if you want. 
> 
> I also made a [Tumblr!](https://aristos-achaion1734.tumblr.com/) So check that out! xxx


	4. Progress...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dick and Jason hang out, awkwardness ensues. Dick and Amy talk. More Jason and Dick. Dick goes to Dinner at the Rohrbach residence. Jason makes progress on his case. Dick reflects on memories, in a way. And a surprise ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FIRSTLY I WANTED TO SAY I LOVE Y'ALL SO MUCH!! - There's 94 Kudos currently on this work. Which means almost 100 other people liked my work. The comments make me the happiest person alive when I get an email. I never imagined this and I Love you all of this.
> 
> Also, I am trying to work out a posting schedule. Until then I'm writing when I have time, and once I'm satisfied with a chapter I'll post it. 
> 
> That means inconsistent updates. The next one could easily come out tomorrow, or next week. 
> 
> Also, I decided I'll write the Alfred Tea Conversation as a separate story, and post it into the series. This chapter already spans across two days, (Thursday and Friday), if I added an Alfred segment, it would have been Wednesday, and that just... didn't sit right with me. I think I already have a sound title for the one shot and a general plan. So look out for that, definitely within the next week. If it takes longer I give you permission to hate-spam me, I'll deserve it.
> 
> I'm also about to start planning a Jason Todd character study, like I did for Dick, so look out for that in my 'Studies' series within a month time-frame? Maybe? 
> 
> I told my mum I'm writing this guys, lmao. 
> 
> ENJOY!!!

So Jason knows how he’s got here, he remembers all the steps, he logically knows what lead to the current events, but damn if anyone told him a mere two weeks ago that he and the Golden Child of the Wayne family would be sitting amicably in the middle of a crowded coffee shop in Gotham Mall, with no scathing remarks, no awkward ‘can I leave? Is it acceptable to leave?’ feelings and certainly no hatred on either side, he would have hit you over the head with a baseball bat, telling you that you make a much better clown than the Joker.

As aforementioned, Jason remembers exactly how he got here, but lord, he will not understand it.

(One second he’s waking up after an extra-long patrol, those idiotic birds all took the same night off, someone’s gotta pick up the slack, he thinks, and replies to his ‘ _Good morning Jay!_ ’ text from Dick and gets a call from the man immediately after he presses send! _Seriously? I’m not even halfway to the land of the living and he’s ready for social interaction._

“Hey, Jace! I was thinking, wanna meet up?” Dick states more than asks. That’s a thing with him, he says stuff like he’ll get them with 100% certainty. It used to annoy him, one more way in which he reminded Jason that he is the golden child. Now he finds it, dare he say, endearing? One of the things he just _does not understand_. “If it’s not a bother, of course,” he adds.

Then he guilts you, a bit. Jason swears that’s a manipulation technique but does not say anything. Instead, he asks, “right this second? Dick I just woke up you can’t be serious. I know you like spontaneity, but this is a bit on the nose don’t you think?” he states rhetorically, incredulously. 

Dick just laughs, the bastard, and assures him that _no, Little Wing, I meant tomorrow, I’m on my way to work from Wayne manor so now wouldn’t be good for me either_. Which yeah, Jason can do tomorrow. He tells the other man so and hangs up.)

Now there he is. Sat in a chair waiting on a grinning Dick Grayson as he is getting their order. He’s flirting obviously with the barista. Despicable. Dick shouldn’t be the one flirting, it should be her. Dick is the literal small-time model. Jason knows this because he may or may have not bought a few of the magazines which portrayed the oldest of the Wayne Boys ‘Richie Wayne’ on the front page. Information gathering! You need to know all about your enemies and at the times they were enemies!

“So, Little Wing, what is up in the life of the fabulous Jason Todd?” starts the older man as he returns with their order, and honestly, Jason has no idea how to answer. Recently his life was revolving around the case he’s working, and his newfound friendship with Dick. He can’t tell him that though. It will inflate his ego even worse and _God forbid that_.

“This and that. This _project_ I’ve been working on has been taking up a lot of my time, really nasty business. I may have a lead on it.” He wasn’t lying. Casework just spewed out of his mouth. That was natural for them. And he did find the lead. On his extended patrol two nights ago. A bullet which was one of a kind, Jason has certainly never seen one like it and he knows his guns. He sent it over to Roy to double-check it for him.

“I don’t mean casework Jason,” states Dick with a small smirk, it must be obvious that Jason just doesn’t know how to handle it because he and Dick just don’t _do_ civil conversations. Over text it’s different. He can think before answering. He can google ice breakers. He can snap a selfie with a peace sign _. It’s different_. And here he is. Face-to-face. With Dick freaking Grayson and he has no idea what to say.

“I mean otherwise there is not much, pretty preoccupied with that,” shrugs Jason non-committedly. _What is he supposed to say_ hmm? ‘Hey Dick, you’re the only new thing in my life and you’re always on my mind’? Hell no, that would sound like he has a crush on the guy. Pfft! That would be ridiculous.

Jason? Crush? Ha nope.

“Come on you must do something when you’re at home. You’re a bat, so you do not sleep,” he states. Jason, frankly a little offended by that statement, moves to interrupt but Dick holds up a hand. “You _are_ a bat, Jason. Accept it. You ain’t getting rid of me, or the rest of us. And like it or not, we all take the barest minimum of sleep time required and there is no way you can convince me otherwise unless I see it with my own eyes,” continues Dick smugly.

“No comment on the bat thing, I am not willing to get into a row with you in the middle of Starbucks, you basic bitch.” Dicks mouth drops open at that, around his straw from his caramel frappe. _Basic_. “But yes I’m willing to admit I will shave off sleep time. Not like you idiots though, I sleep at least 6-8 hours you guys live off like 30 hours a _week_.”

Dick rolls his eyes but nods nonetheless. “We’re getting off-topic. Stop deflecting! What did you do recently as a hobby?” _Persistent_.

“I finally got my hands on the complete _Divine Comedy by Dante_ , so I’m making my way through that in my spare time I guess. It is literally a self-insert fanfiction, but it’s a classic and it shaped many literary works as we know it. I’m excited to finish it and see it with my own eyes and what I gain from it.” Jason said honestly. He started non-pulsed but he loves literature; he will get passionate.

Dick got what he wanted apparently because his eyes held a satisfied glint, the conversation was smooth from there. After they finished their respective coffees they headed over to the main shopping area of the mall and knocked themselves out. Dick tried on many, many ridiculous costumes.

(“Little Wing, I think this will work for the next Wayne gala”, says Dick as he leaves the changing rooms. He is dressed like a traffic cone. Not the Robin costume ‘traffic cone’ but actual traffic cone. It looks. Terrible. Honestly, it looks better than the Snapchat Hot Dog costume he tried on before this one. So it's a minor win.

Jason takes a picture. “Change,” he commands. “Now.”)

They got into Jason’s car after their four-hour shopping/goofing off trip. He had fun. During the car ride, Jason inquires about something that has been itching at him. Dick looked like he had mountains of cash to spare. He was surprised because of course, Dick completely refused to have anything to do with Bruce until just after Jason and Dick started to become civil. So to see him accept the monetary help is surprising, to say the least.

Dick explains to Jason that while he does not use Bruce’s money for stuff like rent, bills, groceries, etc., he does use his trust fund for luxuries and stuff he _could_ , in theory, live without. He’s proving to Bruce that he does not need him. But the trust fund is his now, after all, and he can always afford to give it up, he made sure of that. But he did admit that life is easier with it and, _I thought, why not? If I’m not dependant on it there is no harm in that._

Jason dropped Dick off at his apartment building. “Well, this is my stop,” sighs Dick. “Today was nice. I enjoyed myself. Wanna do that again sometime?” Asks Dick, hopeful.

“Yeah, yeah, of course. That’d be swell,” he said and immediately cringed. _Swell. Who the fuck says swell in this day and age?_

Dick thankfully didn’t notice or didn’t seem like it. “Want to come up? For some more coffee. Some nice heavenly beverage,” he said dreamily. And Jason- Jason bluescreened. For some reason, he got the irrational thought that the two of them hanging out over coffee, then having fun, then being invited over sounded a bit like a date. A ridiculous notion, Jason never thought about romantic stuff! He was a killing machine for God’s sake.

Still, he felt a little uncomfortable with the going up there now that the thought entered his head. Like he’s infringing on Dick’s privacy, breaking his trust or something. “Nah, no can do. Like I said I got a lead I need to check up on.”

And if his heart seized a tiny bit as a response to the way Dick’s eyes dimmed a tiny bit, well, no one needed to know.

\-----

Yesterday was actually a really amazing day according to Dick. He loved spending time with Jason. It’s still that weird itch though. At this point, with the way they act, he _should_ think of him as a brother. That was the whole goddamn point, to bring his brother back to him, his Little Wing. But something is stopping him from thinking of him that way. He feels like a monster. Not to be dramatic, but he does.

Deep down, the one thing Jason wants is to be family, to be brothers, and Dick can’t manage to do that one thing for him!

“One caramel latte for the alien in the car. You know, because your head is probably so far up in the clouds right now you’re breaching Mars’s atmosphere,” deadpans Amy as she gets into the squad car. They’re on a morning patrol. Usually, that is an officer’s duty, but Bludhaven’s finest has always had a shortage of workers, so they distribute to whoever is available.

“I’m firmly on Earth, unfortunately,” oh what he wouldn’t give for an alien invasion, not for like, planetary damnation, just _something_ _other_ _to do_ than sit here and hate himself for not being able to be a good brother. “I assure you.”

“Look we’re great friends and all. But you don’t open up, not to me, even though something is clearly bothering you,” declares Amy, hitting the nail on the head. “I hope you open up to someone. I also hope you get out of this funk by dinner, don’t forget you’re coming over today.”

“What do you mean I don’t open up? I’m a very open guy. Also, I wouldn’t miss it for the world” Dick states, but in a tone that screams _I don’t want to talk about this, but you obviously do. And we both know you won’t believe me if I lie so I’m not even trying to be persuasive._ Sometimes that’s the best approach. Though he does say the last part earnestly.

“Dick, you aren’t. I barely know you,” says Amy solemnly, seemingly abandoning the dinner part of the conversation. Dick sighs and looks out the window to avoid answering, petulant but it works as Amy starts the car with a huff.

They drive in silence for around 5 minutes before Dick breaks. He groans and says, “ask. What is it that Detective Rohrbach wants to know?” He hears Amy muffle a snort at his obvious reluctance and emotional constipation. But she brightens up at him truly trying.

“Why don’t you start with now? Why were you a million miles out in space?”

He snorts at the overused metaphor. “Honestly? I’m worried I’m being a terrible big brother,” at which Amy sharply turns her head towards him. He’s worried she’s got whiplash.

“’big brother’? You have siblings?” Asks Amy incredulously. Did he- did he really forget to mention that? Wow, he’s more secretive than even _he himself_ realised. He rubs his neck sheepishly.

“Yeah, must have forgotten to mention that. I have four younger brothers, one official younger sister, one unofficial younger sister/my brother's ex, and one ex-girlfriend/cousin/sister.” He recites. At Amy’s horrified look towards the end, he rushes to explain. “My brother dated a girl, she then hung around the house so much we all started regarding her as part of the family. When they broke up, on good terms, she still kept coming over and he literally slotted herself into our life as a sister, and as a daughter figure to our dad.

The ex-girlfriend/cousin/sister, her name is Babs, by the way. Our dad – B – has a really good friend, who’s Babs’ dad. She was my age, we went to the same school, we became best friends, and then we dated. A similar story really, she hung around our house a lot, we parted amicably, and then she just continued to hang around. To the kids, she became the sister, but because she still had a good father figure in her life, B just couldn’t take that role. So he became like an uncle to her, hence the ‘cousin.’

And yes. There really are that many of us. B likes to take in strays. You already know I’m adopted, right? Yeah, well we all are. Except for Damian,” narrates Dick. Amy nodding at the question during his explanation.

“Oh wow, really shows how little I know you,” he chastised and he winced. “So why are you a ‘terrible big brother’? What have you done?” She asks sympathetically.

“Well, I feel like- hang on,” luckily Dick was spared from answering emotional questions when he got a text from…

 _Speak of the devil and he shall appear,_ Dick thinks as he opens a snap from Jason. It’s a simple selfie next to a computer screen, blurred thankfully, with the caption that he ‘fucking hates being a sitting duck while results come through’

Dick chuckles, already feeling better. Jason texted him! He’s willingly choosing to talk to Dick!

“Who’s that?” Asks Amy looking over her shoulder at his phone.

“Just a friend.”

\------

 _And sent_ , he thinks. Truth be told he already had the results for the bullets. He ran over the evidence 6 times already and all it told him was that it was made somewhere in Europe, at least that lets him know to look out for international shipments rather than inland ones, he guesses.

He doesn’t know why he basically lied to Dick, he just felt like he wanted to talk to him. But he didn’t know for what, or _why_.

 _This is pointless. My case isn’t Dick, my case is this drug-op. Get your head in the game, Todd,_ he thinks as he researches any possible shipments of guns from Europe to the US the legal route.

A few hours later his phone rings. Facetime? He doesn’t use that. _Dick, of course, he’s basic like that_.

“ _Little Wing! Hey! Sorry I ambushed you like this, wanted to call you normally but I also gotta get ready for dinner at my partner's place tonight so hands-off it is_ ,” exclaims Dick the second he appears on Jason’s screen.

Jason Looks at himself in the corner of the screen, he doesn’t look that _bad_. Rugged and sleepy, fair, but _handsomely_ if you get his drift.

“Speaker is a thing,” he says, voice rough with disuse, “also, partner?” Dick’s taken? Jason didn’t know this!

“ _Yeah, from the station. We’ve been partners for years now, climbed the ranks from officers to detectives together_.” Ah, that makes sense. Stupid Jason forgot that police have partners. And it doesn’t need to be romantic. Jason is unsettled by how relaxed that thought makes him.

He can’t see Dick for a while; he went off camera to change. But when he returns Jason is a little mesmerised, as a man, admiring another man, purely aesthetical of course. Dick looks good. He is wearing a Nightwing blue shirt. Early Nightwing costume shade of blue. Almost Discowing.

Jason shudders at the reminder of that monstrosity. Two buttons at the top, both undone. Hair gelled messily upwards, _I look effortlessly good_ kind of way. Black jeans hugging all of his _ass_ ets. Muscles all on display, which Jason notices because… well he actually doesn’t have a reason for that one.

“ _I am running late, just wanted to call you real quick ‘cause I missed you,_ ” - how dare he say things like that effortlessly - “ _and wanted a second opinion on the outfit_ ,” Dick flashes him a grin, showing those pearly whites.

“Looks good, bro,” He almost says ‘no homo’ but that would definitely suggest some homo, so he just adds a ‘bro’. That’s a very Straight thing to say. And he is straight. At least he thought he was. Probably needs to revaluate that now that he is looking at his friend's muscles like they will sustain him for the rest of his life.

 _Brothers. That is your brother. Even if you turn out less than straight Todd, that is your brother_.

Dick thanks him and laughs, unbeknownst to his internal turmoil. They talk about whatever they can think of before Dick has to leave. They bid each other goodbye.

\------

“Hey! You made it,” screams Emma as she launches herself at him, Amy and Jim’s 10-year-old daughter. Their son James trailing behind her also holding his arms out for a hug. James is 8. And if there is one thing Dick is good at, it’s acrobatics. The second thing he’s good at? Giving hugs. So he obliges.

“As I do every Friday,” he laughs. He greets the adult Rohrbachs too. He gives Jim a man hug and a safe to Amy. They did spend the day together after all.

He and Jim get on well. After they established that there is no romantic interest from Dick’s side towards Amy, Jim ended the pissing contest and they started over. Seems like Dick is good at starting over.

They exchange small talk as they gather around the table. Asking about each other’s day, etc. the lasagna was brought out and they spent a few minutes in comfortable silence enjoying the meal.

“So, Dick opened up to me today that he has like, dozens of siblings.” States Amy as a conversation starter. Damn her. Though he guesses he deserves it after failing to mention that.

“Not dozens,” he rolls his eyes. “I have 7.”

“Eight Kids?” Jim asks, incredulous. “Wow I could not manage more than our little hive here”, he chuckles.

“Ha, B, my dad, is a stray collector. He can’t live _without_ taking in a few strays each summer solstice, and one biological kid once in a blue moon,” he snorts.

“One biological?” Jim prods gently, and Dick guesses he forgot to tell Jim that he’s adopted.

He tells him so, they ask what happened.

(“I knew you were adopted, you mentioned it offhandedly once but we weren’t close then so I didn’t ask. But you never did say what happened”)

“My parents and I were performers” he hates to leave out ‘circus’, but people have seemingly forgotten that part of his heritage and Dick and Bruce thought it’s for the better that his acrobatic talent blurs into the background. Hides their nightlife better. “On one of the nights we were performing, a local mob sabotaged the equipment because the production team couldn’t pay up protection. The equipment malfunctioned before I could use it but my parents died that day.”

They were sympathetic. “All of us have some sort of a sad backstory but, that’s what makes us special. We were picked up and got given a better life. I’ll forever be grateful for that, because of that we could experience happy moments, together.”

They ask him to tell them the happy moments, he obliges.

\------

Jason is continuing in his research when his phone rings. Bruce’s emergency contact line. _Shit_.

“ _Arkham breakout. All hands on deck required_.” Oh wow. That’s bad communication even for him.

“Hello, Bruce, lovely to hear your voice.” He mocks his greeting. “Can’t you handle it without me?”

“ _We got an alert through about 10 minutes ago. It’s unclear how many escaped, more rogues are showing up by the minute. I want you central Gotham._ ” Okay, this is bad. His less than stellar greeting can pass.

“ETA 20 minutes. Who’d you want me on?” he asks

“ _Ivy_.”

\------

“And then he looked at me, all puppy-eyes, and begged me not to tell B that they dyed his favourite work suit bright purple by accident,” recounts Dick.

He’s talking about an ‘incident’ that Tim and Steph have gotten themselves into last week. They were working on a new prank from scratch. A ball which explodes paint, though Dick is pretty sure such a thing already exists, they said they tried to ‘give it aim.’

They agreed to stand in front of where the ball would aim, testing it out first-hand. They were both unaware that they were both planning the same thing; they were planning to move out of the way, making so only one of them would be hit. Humiliating the other.

So when it was about to hit them they of course both moved, so the paint hit an object behind them. The bat-suit. At least that is the version they told Dick, anyway.

Bruce of course found out, and it was bright purple so he had a culprit already. He had to use a backup suit for a week until that one was cleaned.

The family guffawed with laughter at his doctored story. He had switched ‘bat-suit’ for ‘work suit’ and used ‘office’ instead of ‘my family’s super-secret lair, or base of operations for our illegal vigilante activities. Yes, my dad is _Batman’_ because, well, _obvious_ reasons.

He’s about to add on a few reactions from Alfred and Bruce when his phone rang. Bruce’s emergency line. _Shit_. “Could you excuse me for a second? Thanks,” she said as he rushed to the bathroom to answer as quickly as he can.

“B? What is it?” he asks, desperate.

“ _Arkham breakout. Contained 5 inmates. All rogues escaped. All hands on deck. Even Hood’s on the scene_.” Short, clipped, professional. Typical Bruce. He runs back through the message and oh lord, this is bad.

“When?” Hey, if Bruce can be short and clipped, so can Dick goddamn it.

“ _Alert came through half an hour ago. It was unclear how many escaped, we thought Gotham-based could handle this. As more started showing up, the more reinforcements we required. Now I’m calling on you_ ,” Dick had half a mind to growl ‘Batman Report’ at him as a mockery but thought better of it.

“I’m currently in central Bludhaven. ETA 30 minutes.” Dick hangs up. He cites a family emergency to the Rohrbachs and doesn’t wait for a response as he grabs his things and dashes out the door.

\------

Jason really hates Ivy. Well, she’s cool sometimes. Harley is cleaning up recently. She’s working on Pamela. Hopefully, the sirens can have a reunion as the good guys that would be freaking cool. But right now? God, he has never hated plants more.

“You know, if you wanted to make me _like_ plants, maybe don’t attack me with them and make me associate them with traumatic memories,” he quips aggressively as he shoots a vine nearing him at an alarming speed. He flips out the way of another one avenging its fallen comrade.

He’s been at this with her for _45 minutes and counting_ , and she just won’t give up. Jason is marginally winning, the longer this goes on for the more irrational she becomes. Where Jason has learned to bide his time. Meditation helps patience plenty. Had to learn that when dealing with pit madness.

She shrieks and slaps him with a vine, reminiscent of a woman slapping a cheating husband. _Okay, I really need better metaphors_. He’s actually grateful for the slap, however. Truly. If she didn’t smack him one he wouldn’t have been able to see the form of Nightwing plummeting to the ground from the roof of the highest building in Gotham.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY ABOUT THE CLIFFHANGER!
> 
> I'll try to get the next chapter out to you soon!
> 
> 4003 words! My longest chapter yet.
> 
> EDIT 28.02.2021: I wrote the Alfred Tea Conversation, and am about to post it after finishing this little note. It is the second work in this And I Replied series and I named it 'Appreciate Your Surroundings' 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it! xxx


	5. Alfred OneShot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred one shot - posted

Hi Guys,

I would LOVE to include an Alfred segment, because I think it would be a nice addition to the story, but as I mentioned in the previous chapter notes, it would not work for the story to run smoothly.

So like I said in those same notes, I made it a separate oneshot! It is now the second work in this series.

I posted an announcement here so people get a notification if they want to read that. I edited a notice into Chaper 4's End Notes for people to see, but the people who aready read the chapter don't have a way to, so here I am, informing my amazing audience, which I love, to more content.

Once I have chapter 5 ready to go, I'll delete this, becaude, well, it won't be smooth otherwise.

Like i said in the story summary: It is not necessary to read, It won't impact the main story, and if I reference the events I'll write context into the notes either way, so it is entirely optional to read. I hope you do though, and I hope you like it! 

Here's the [link!](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29762235/)


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